Last week, Michigan passed legislation obstructing the process of recounting votes in the event of suspected election fraud this November. Senate Bills 603 and 604 would, if enacted, thwart the ability to recount votes through several means, chiefly by requiring any fraud allegations to be referred to the county prosecutor (i.e. Democrat district attorneys), rather than conducting a recount through bipartisan boards.
Republican state senators are sounding the alarm on the threat this poses to the integrity of their state’s elections. The pair of bills, passed in conjunction with one another, invite voter fraud by making investigating the fraud nearly impossible.
Each county in Michigan has a board of canvassers that reports to the Board of State Canvassers. Each board is bipartisan with two Democrats and two Republicans. Under current Michigan law, these boards have the authority to investigate fraud with respect to voting. But these Democrat-pushed bills completely strip that away. Not only do they double the fees for a candidate to request a recount, but they also change the definition of what constitutes investigation at all.
“Under current law, recounts of votes can be done based on the allegation of fraud or a mistake. The legislation removes fraud as a reason for a recount,” a statement released last week from Michigan House Republicans reads. “It also states that recount petitions may only allege an error and must state that there would have been a different outcome in the election without that error.”
These bills not only remove potential
